“Taking a best practices approach when specifying racks – planning and investing to meet today’s needs with the thought of expansion tomorrow – helps to ensure that data center needs won’t readily outgrow capabilities,” said Ron Bednar, director, solutions technologies, Emerson Network Power. “Flexibility allows a data center to respond quickly to changing business needs. And while the racks themselves need to adapt to the room in which they are housed, the data center must be able to adapt to individual rack environments and zones.”
The Emerson Network Power white paper notes that racks are now available that improve equipment installation speed via tool-less, “slide in, slide out” procedures. Taller racks take advantage of the data center’s headroom, while rack depth has increased to accommodate equipment. Side breathing needs have increased rack width to meet new manufacturers’ specifications and to enhance equipment performance and life through hot-aisle/cold-aisle arrangements.
Also discussed are:
Increased weight capacities up to 3,000 lbs
19-inch rails for easier equipment installation and adjustment
Door configurations that increase air flow and are reversible to ease maintenance
Split-locking side panels to simplify installation
Cable-ready roof tops and cable ingress/egress
Rack grounding
Rack stability and security
Rack accessories, including cable and airflow management and IT equipment support